In an interview with Charlie Rose, Gates Foundation Co-Founder Bill Gates spoke about Microsoft’s Surface tablets. Gates said it combines the best of a PC and tablet.

The advantage Surface has over the iPad is functionality, through USB, and functionality through the desktop side of Windows 8

In an interview with broadcaster and journalist Charlie Rose this week Bill Gates talked about his philanthropic work, specifically his work as part of the Gates Foundation and his multi-year visits to India, and of course talked to Rose about the tablet market and Microsoft’s movement in that market. Part of that discussion was on Surface, Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 tablets.

On his philanthropy, Gates said that he hopes Polio can be rid of in Afghanistan and Nigeria as that’s something he can control. He also talked how India is consistently improving, in aspects such as education, though there is still a massive amount of poverty in the region (20 million people in a single region, equivalent to fifth biggest country in the world, will naturally bring some poverty).

Surface Unifies Windows, But Does It Work?

On Microsoft’s Surface tablets for Windows 8, Gates said you can have a strong ecosystems of manufacturers and devices that show the different between the tablet and PC. He added that Surface brings both form factors together; that’s helped by the fact that Windows 8 uses the traditional desktop version of Windows and the new, mobile-focused Metro. Apple couldn’t launch an iPad with iOS and OS X. Though the company is bringing the two operating systems further together in OS X Mountain Lion, launching this month.

Rose asked Gates if he was tempted to go back to Microsoft with the work the company is doing in Windows Phone and Windows 8, but Gates said he wouldn’t outside of going back once a month. When you’re eradicating diseases and preventing yourself from becoming the richest man in the world, then that’s admirable. Microsoft would be the easy option.

The only problem with using two versions of Windows on a tablet is that touch input is going to suffer on one side, in this case the desktop half. Touch input doesn’t work with an OS designed for a mouse and keyboard.

Written by:Jon Charles Jonathan is a writer on the technology and video game industries. He is comfortable with using Mac OS X and Windows; he began using Windows with Windows XP during his early double-digit years, and started using OS X in 2009 on a MacBook Pro. He began gaming on the SNES back in the 90s.